Turnbutton fastener



May 26, 1925.

G. A. HOLMES TURNBUTTON FASTENER Filed Ma 2, 1925 e d .fla mws I w U60 r1163 Patented May 26, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A. HOLMES, OF NEWTON CENTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED STATES FASTENER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

TUR-NBUTTON FASTENER.

Application filed May 2,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. HOLMES, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Newton Center, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Turnbutton Fasteners, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawing designating like parts.

This invention relates to a turn button fastener of the kind commonly used for fastening the curtains of vehicles in which one member of the fastener is commonly secured to the body of the vehicle and the other member is formed in or secured to the marginal part of the curtain.

Referring to the member which is commonly secured to the vehicle body as the standing member, the present invention is embodied in a fastener of the kind in which the said standing member constitutes the socket and may be flush, or substantially so, with the surface of the vehicle body to which it is secured, while the button member is adapted to be secured to the curtain or other fabric to be fastened, and is provided with a button proper at the inside of the curtain, and with a head or enlargement at the outside to serve as a handle or knob, by which the operator may turn the button to fasten or unfasten the curtain.

Fig. 1, is a side elevation of the button or movable member, of a fastener embodying this invention, secured to the fabric;

Fig. 2, a view showing the fastener as it appears on the outside of the curtain;

Fig. 3, a similar view showing the fastener as it appears at the inside of the curtain;

Fig. 4, a face view of the socket member adapted to be secured to the fabric, as when. the fastener is employed to connect two curtains or fabric layers together;

.Fi 5, a face view of the socket or standing member, secured to the body of the vehicle;

Fig. 6, a sectional view on line X 6 of Fig. 2; showing the turn button cooperating with a socket member of the kind shown in Fig. 4; to fasten two fabric layers together;

Fig. 7, a similar sectional view except that the socket member is of the kind shown in Fig. 5, secured to the vehicle body; and

1923. Serial No. 636,172.

Fig. 8, a side elevation of the members shown in section Fig. 6;

As appears in Fig. 1, the button member is provided with a base 2, adapted to be, and shown as, secured to the fabric 20, and adapted to support the working parts, which include the head or knob 3, at one side of the base, and button proper 4, at the other side of the base, said parts being so constructed that the arms of the said button are at some little distance from the under surface of the fabric layer.

In general construction the working parts of the button member are substantially as shown in my Patent #1,875,756, dated April 26th, 1921;that is, as best appears in Figures 6 and 7, the head 3, is composed of an outer shell of sheet metal, having enclosed therein, a filling piece 5, between which and in-turned flanges of the said shell, is secured the head of the pintle piece, 6, the shank of which passes through a hole in the base plate in which it turns together with the head 3, in the pivotal movement by which the button is operated to cooperate with the socketmember.

In said former patent the pintle and button head were secured to the base by a spring interposed between the under or inner surface of the base and a head formed on the end of the pintle.

In the construction forming the subject of the present invention the pintle 6 has secured upon its end the button proper 4, which is made with a hollow hub 14, which encloses a spring 7, which spring thus cooperates with the button head 3, and base plate 2, substantially as in the construction. shown in my former patent above referred to. The button proper 4, is non-rotatively secured to the pintle 6, shown in this in stance as square in cross section for this purpose, and the head. 3, pintle 6, and button 4, are thus all rigidly secured together and operated as a unit with a pivotal movement in the base 2; said movement being con trolled and yieldingly restrained at quarter turn positions by projections 10 on the base, co-operating with notches or recesses in the face of the button 3, that lies upon the base plate, and by theiaction of the spring 7, the same as in patent above referred to.

The socket member with which the button 4 co -operates, is in the form of a plate 30, (see Fig. which when intended to be for use as the standing member to be connected with the body of the vehicle, a portion of which is shown at 40 in Figs. 5 and 7 is made at the end of a hollow cylindrical portion 31 (see Fig. 7) adapted to be fitted into a recess in the body 40 and secured therein by a screw 32 shown in this instance as having a large head 33 substantially filling the lower portion of the socket cylinder and engaging a flange 34 around the lower or inner end of said socket cylinder.

There is a sufficient space between the head 33 of the fastening screw at the bottom of the socket, and the top plate of said socket, to receive the arms of the button f.

The said top plate of the socket has an elongated opening 35 as best shown in Fig. 5; the middle portion of which is circular as indicated at 36, said circular portion being adapted to receive, with a fairly close lit, the tubular hub portion 14L of the button while the portions of the opening at the sides of said central circular portion, accommodate the arms of the button f when turned so as to be in line with the longer dimension of the socket opening when presented thereto.

hen the socket member is to be used on a curtain flap or fabric 21 as indicated in Figures 4:, 6, and 8, it is made as a convex plate 300 the margin of which may rest upon the fabric while the middle portion stands somewhat above the fabric, as best shown in Fig. 6.

The circular central portion 36 of the elongated socket opening co-operates with the hub portion 1a of the button in centering the button with the socket when it is to be passed through the socket opening either inward or outward, and maintains the fastener members in proper alignment when fastened.

The base 2 of the button member, and the plate 300 constituting a socket member, are provided with prongs which may be passed through perforations in the fabric and clinched over properly shaped washers 51 in order securely to attach said fastener. members to the fabric.

A hole or perforation has to be made in the fabric to permit the button proper to be passed there-through, as indicated in Fig. 6 but with the socket member shown in Figs. 4, 6, and 8, it is unnecessary to perforate the fabric except for the passage of the prongs 50, as the button 4t does not pass through the fabric, but merely passes through the opening in the socket plate 300, and lies between the said socket plate and the fabric, as shown in Figure 6, when the parts with which the fastener is used are fastened together.

The operation will be readily understood, and is as follows: The head at the outside of the fabric in this case serves merely as a. knob or handle for the operator, who turns the said knob and button l, to the position where the button arms will be lengthwise of the socket opening, when the said button may be passed through the socket opening, either inward when the parts are to be fastened, or outward when they are to be separated.

To fasten; the curtain, consequently, the button is passed through the socket opening and is then turned by the knob 3, so that the arms of the button are at right angles to the length of the socket opening and thus lie under the socket plate and prevent the button from being withdrawn from the socket so long as it remains in this ,position. To unfasten, the knob and the button are again turned into line with the length of the socket opening, and the button may be withdrawn from socket, and the fabric, or part to which the button membein is secured, is thus unfastened from the vehicle body or part to which the standing member of the fastener is secured.

I claim l. A turn button fastener COlIlPllSlllQ, a socket member having an elongated opening, and a button member composed of a base plate adapted to be secured to the part to be fastened, a pintle extending through an opening in said baseplate, a head secured to said pintle at one side of said baseplate and a button also secured to said pintle at the other side of said. baseplate, and a spring interposed between said button and base plate and yieldingly forcing said button away from said baseplate.

2. A turn button fastener comprising a socket member having an elongated opening with a circular portion at its middle, combined with a button member, comprising a. base plate adapted to be secured to the fabric, a head at one side of said base plate, a pintle secured to said head and extending through said base plate, a button proper secured to said pintle having a. tubular hub to co-operate with the middle portion of the socket opening, and a spring in said tubular hub acting to press the head against the base plate.

GEORGE A. HOLMES. 

